There would appear to be new life in the Winnipeg Jets.
After Tuesday’s remarkable comeback in Montreal, the Jets kept rolling on Thursday night in front of 13,312 at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg got goals from six different players en route to a 6-2 shellacking of the last place Vancouver Canucks.
Suddenly, after struggling through a nine-game losing streak, the Jets have won two-in-row and are now 6-8-3 and, amazingly, back in the thick of things in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the lowly Canucks have fallen to 3-14-1 and are dead last in the NHL.
The Jets got multi-point nights from a handful of players – Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist. Dawson Mercer scored his first of the year and first as a Jet and added an assist. Kyle Connor and Dylan DeMelo each had two assists and Viggo Bjorck assisted on Scheifele’s goal -- his first NHL point. The Jets, after struggling to score for nine games, have suddenly notched 10 goals in two games and have a pile of secondary scoring.
Dawson Mercer (Photo by James Carey Lauder)
All in all, it was a fun night for the Jets and their fans at the downtown rink.
It didn’t take long for the Jets to get on the board. On the power play at 3:49 of the opening period, Alex Iafallo, tipped Haydn Fleury’s shot from the point and it eluded Vancouver netminder Leevi Merilainen. It was Winnipeg’s fourth shot of the period, and it gave Iafallo his fourth goal of the season. Fleury and Dawson Mercer drew the assists.
The Jets made it 2-0 just 13 seconds later as Cole Koepke’s shot from an odd angle deflected off Merilainen’s pad and dribbled between his legs across the red line. It was Koepke’s second of the year as Morgan Barron drew the assist.
The Jets had outshot Vancouver 7-0 when Lian Ohgren crossed the Winnipeg blueline and appeared to be making a pass when he adjusted and whipped a shot along the ice past a started Stu Skinner. That made it 2-1 even though Winnipeg was dominating the game.
The Jets got their two-goal lead back at 14:04 as Dawson Mercer scored his first goal of the season and first as a member of the Winnipeg Jets. After Cole Perfetti drove hard to the net and was turned away by Merilainen, Mercer got in position in the slot and rifled a pass from Perfetti into the back of the Vancouver net. Perfetti (6) and Dylan DeMelo (6) drew the assists. Getting Mercer rolling would be the best thing to happen to the Jets.
Scheifele and Connor each had two-point nights (Photo by James Carey Lauder)
At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Jets led 3-1 and had outshot the Canucks 12-6.
The Jets made it 4-1 at the 6:52 mark of the second period when Neal Pionk banged home a Kyle Connor rebound right on the Canucks doorstep. Connor (5) and Gabriel Vilardi (7) drew the assists.
The Jets widened the lead to 5-1 at 11:36 when Kyle Connor left another rebound right in front of the Vancouver net and Mark Scheifele poked it home with one hand to record his third of the season. Connor and Viggo Bjorck, with his first NHL point, gave the Jets a four-goal lead.
A Skinner stop (Photo by James Carey Lauder)
After 40 minutes, the Jets were in complete control, had outshot Vancouver 22-18 and were getting another solid goaltending performance from Stu Skinner.
In the third period, Mario Ferraro fired a shot from the left circle into a wide-open cage as the Jets took a 6-1 lead at 11:32. Mark Scheifele set it up and picked up his 13th assist of the season while DeMelo also drew an assist, his second of the night.
Brock Boeser made it 6-2 with a goal at 15:09, but it didn’t alter the outcome.
Winnipeg outshot Vancouver 29-26, and outhit them 32-20. Stu Skinner got the win in goal. Mercer, Scheifele and Bjorck were the three stars.
The Jets will get back at it again on Sunday night when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town for a 6 o’clock puck drop. It’s Filipino Heritage Night.
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